On a blustery day last month I had the good fortune to attend a workshop in Western Paper Marbling. Such a remarkable experience!
The workshop was held at the San Francisco Center for the Book, and was lead by Pietro Accardi, an Italian marbling expert who owned a bookbindery in Turin for over a decade.
Pietro provided all the arcane tools and materials necessary. (Seaweed emulsion, who knew?) He guided us through a series of traditional methods, showing us how to drop the paint onto the emulsion and manipulate it with handmade combs to create fantastic motifs.
The process was totally fun and incredibly zen. The set up is the complex part, but with Pietro's skilled instruction, all of us were able to turn out page after page of intricate, colorful examples of this old-world craft.
What a pleasure to fill a grey day with colorful swirls and curlicues!